Math Dept 2019-2020 Newsletter 12

Monday,  2 March 2020

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Past newsletters can now be reached via the department website.

[Click on “About” and then “News and Events”]. 

Newsletter is sent out when there is something new.

Please send entries by the end of the workweek --Ed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MEETINGS AND SEMINARS IN THE DEPARTMENT 

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mondays

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combinatorics Seminar

 

Mondays at 3pm in room 213.

 

Coordinator: Louis Shapiro

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

TUESDAYS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seminar On Topological Semigroups

 

10:10 AM to 11:00 AM, Annex III lab.

 

The seminar started on Tuesday, January 28th.

Neil will continue talking about some of his recent work. 

 

Coordinator Dennis Davenport  

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesdays 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Graduate Student Seminar

 

12.10 to 1pm ASB-B 213

 

Coordinator: Matthew Cavallo

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Math team/Math Club meetings 

 

Wednesdays at 5pm, room 213.

 

This week the math club will meet. Last week we went over some problems related to a problem from the latest Putnam exam.

 

Organizers: Jill McGowan (math club), Sankar Sitaraman (math team)

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fridays

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clifford Algebras Seminar

 

3.10 pm, Graduate School, 317A

Starting Feb 21, Tim Myers giving a series of talks on new developments in this field.

 

Coordinators: Dennis Davenport and Tim Myers

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Geometry Seminar

 

Friday, 2 pm, Departmental Lounge (Room 201)

 

Speaker: Todd Drumm

 

Abstract: In this first series of seminars, Todd Drumm will go over a seminal paper by Fields medalists Milnor and Thurston on the dynamics of maps on the real line. No prerequisite is needed besides basic undergraduate mathematics (calculus 1, linear algebra) and a lot of curiosity. The exposition will be practical rather than formal, Mathematica code will help understanding what is going on. Students are highly encouraged to participate.

 

Coordinator: Roberto de Leo

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mathematics Department Colloquium

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fridays 4.10 to 5 pm, Room 213, ASB-B

 

Friday, Mar 6.

Mike Reed, Duke University

A James Donaldson Memorial Lecture

 

Previous week’s speaker:

 

Feb 28, Naiomi Cameron, Spelman College.

A sign-reversing involution on peakless Motzkin paths.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 TALKS AND WORKSHOPS OUTSIDE DEPARTMENT

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1.  WEBINAR SERIES on the Impact of the Mathematical Sciences

 

The mathematical sciences play a critical role in advancing crucial innovations and improving our prosperity, health, and security. Join us for a webinar series featuring mathematicians telling the most important stories of how math has made an impact, from traffic simulations to personalized medicine.

 Registration and Information page

 

 

2. (Thanks to Dennis Davenport)

Graduate Student Conference & Undergraduate Poster Session
March 28–29, 2020, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
For Graduate/Undergraduate students from any field
Keynote Speakers: Professor Theodora Bourni & Professor Bruce Sagan

Registration form: https://forms.gle/q715oQogBVmQYXnH8
Details at: http://mgo.syr.edu/conferences/upcoming/

3.  The Howard University Research Symposium will be held on April 16th and 17th, 2020 in the Interdisciplinary Research Building. The deadline for Abstract Submissions is March 8, 2020, 11:59pm.

 Please submit your abstracts using the link below: 

http://researchweek.howard.edu/abstracts

 

 

In past newsletters:

 

Dimacs Workshop Reconnect 2020: Optimization, June 2020

 

2020 Summer African Diaspora Joint Mathematics Workshop (ADJOINT), June 2020

  

QUBES Faculty Mentoring Network (FMN) Opportunities Spring 2020

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

1. Lou Shapiro writes:

 "Palindromes and Pseudo-involution Multiplication" (Lou Shapiro with Tian-Xiao He) has appeared in the May 2020 issue of Linear Algebra and its Applications.

 

2. Talk by Aziz Yakubu on success in academia at the Word of Science website: Video of Talk

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

(from various sources)

 —————————————————————————————------

 

1. Summer research opportunities at FDA, Silver Spring

 Opportunities available at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Participants will have an opportunity to gain a hands-on research experience on a variety of regulatory research projects related to CDRH's mission. The program is designed for participants to engage with an expert mentor or mentors during the summer to examine a question of interest related to those projects within the placement office. Anticipated start day is on or around May 18, 2020, but can be negotiated with the mentor to commence on any Monday throughout the summer in order to best align with school schedules. 

 

Information and Application at

https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/FDA-CDRH-2020-0003

 

 

2. (Thanks to Talitha Washington) QEM/NSF Summer Internship

 

The ten-week, Washington, DC-based summer internship opportunity (May 26 – July 31, 2020) is made possible through a grant to the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The internship will provide round-trip airfare, assistance with ground and local transportation costs, shared summer housing in Washington, DC and a $4,000 (undergraduate) and $5,000 (graduate) taxable stipend, payable in three installments during the summer. 
 
During the internship, students will have an opportunity to be mentored by program officers at NSF that are involved in making science policy and in implementing national programs focused on STEM. The experience is designed to increase the students’ understanding of how science policy is made as well as to further develop their potential for becoming leaders and proponents 

of increased participation in  STEM by  students from underrepresented minority groups.

  

Application form:  https://form.jotform.com/200085698440154

 

Application Deadline – Priority deadline Friday, February 21, 2020

Application Deadline – Final deadline Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Decision Notification – Friday, March 27, 2020

 

In previous newsletters:

 

U.S. DHS Opportunities for Student Workforce to Experience Research

 

Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematics (PIC Math)

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERESTING ARTICLES AND WEBSITES

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. (Thanks to Louise Raphael) What problem with an elementary solution remained unsolved the longest?

 

A nice explanation of the progress on the congruent number problem.

 

https://www.quora.com/What-math-problem-with-an-elementary-solution-was-unsolved-for-the-longest-period/answer/Alon-Amit?ch=99&share=2555c7f8&srid=ui2Vft

 

2. Katherine Johnson passes away

   

    Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician who helped the US land on the moon, and was featured in “Hidden Figures,” passed away at age 101.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/science/katherine-johnson-dead.html